TNT SPORTS GROWS FA CUP FIRST ROUND AUDIENCES ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS

TNT Sports reached nearly one million football fans in the UK and Ireland during its live coverage of the Emirates FA Cup First Round with average broadcast audiences growing by close to a third compared to the 2025-2026 season. 

TNT Sports’ commitment to covering more matches live throughout the Emirates FA Cup than ever before is giving fans a front row seat to the action, with on-site presentation from the First Round stage. Fans are benefitting from increased access through TNT Sports’ all-platform approach and are consuming even more digital content this season. 

Streaming subscribers watching live coverage on HBO Max grew by 18% with hours viewed growing by 58% on the platform compared to last season. By bringing coverage to the widest possible audience with free highlights on YouTube, TNT Sports Football YouTube also secured a triple digit growth in First Round views. 

Eight First Round matches were broadcast by TNT Sports from 6-9 November with all 16 clubs involved received a £50,000 television broadcast fee in addition to prize money distributed by the FA. 

During the First Round, TNT Sports’ largest in-game audience saw hundreds of thousands of fans tuning in to watch Plymouth Parkway beat Berkhamsted 2-1 in extra time. The home win followed the Emirates FA Cup Second Round draw from Bolitho Park, which broadcast live on TNT Sports 1, HBO Max and TNT Sports Football YouTube, hosted by TNT Sports presenter Jules Breach alongside pundits Joel Ward and Asmir Begović. 

Elsewhere, 2021 FA Cup champions Leicester City avoided an upset as they beat Oxford City 4-2 away from home in their first FA Cup First Round tie in 18 years and fog caused chaos at Altrincham as the League One side lost to Notts County on penalties. Meanwhile, Reading’s Charlie Savage scored in a 5-0 rout against Peterborough United, managed by his dad, Robbie, and the magic of the FA Cup was epitomised in a shock 2-0 home win for seventh-tier Wimborne Town against League Two’s Crawley Town. 

All 20 ties from the Emirates FA Cup Second Round take place across the weekend of Saturday 5 December with schedules and broadcast arrangements on TNT Sports set to be announced soon. The full list of fixtures can be found at TNTSports.co.uk. 

TNT Sports broadcasts a huge selection of live Emirates FA Cup matches each season from the First Round, every game from the Third Round outside of 3pm kick-offs and the Final at Wembley Stadium connected by EE.  

HOW TO WATCH TNT SPORTS 

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms including EE TV, Sky and Virgin Media. HBO Max is the streaming destination for TNT Sports in the UK, presenting many of the world’s most celebrated sports events live together with an extensive selection of original documentaries.